Emacs installer falsely detected as malicious software of Unknown Publisher

Recently downloaded and Microsoft Defender SmartScreen is categorizing Emacs as malicious.

 Emacs-31.1-installer.exe was released very recently (August 24, 2026), so a new Windows installer having little reputation is quite plausible.

It doesn’t necessarily mean GNU Emacs is malicious. The screenshot is showing a Windows reputation warning, and there are two clues that explain it:

“Publisher: Unknown publisher” — Windows cannot establish a trusted code-signing identity for that particular .exe.

Microsoft Defender SmartScreen considers both the publisher's reputation and the specific file's download/reputation history. A legitimate but newly released or infrequently downloaded executable can therefore trigger a warning. Microsoft explicitly says that unknown programs are not necessarily malicious. 

This happens to all innovative and novel software, and developers like me who struggle to convince your software is safe, even to governmental security agencies. 

SpinRise Casino Phishing Email with subject Attention, your golden ticket is ready to be picked up!

For the record, this is a SpinRise Casino spam email attempt that is recently going around, with subject "Attention, your golden ticket is ready to be picked up!"

What to do?  Report them, go to bottom of page. 

From: Spinrise Bonus Inside<lee.lee@hyugamigosoyn06.onmicrosoft.com> Subject: Attention, your golden ticket is ready to be picked up!

Spam Link

1. https://volleynest.com/index.php?search=xxx&dxxxx&dzygp=xxxx&lm=xxxxx&sd=xxx&page=rxxxxx

How to tell this is a Phishing email?

1. Check email address in full, if it's not from originating company then it's phishing.
2. Hover over all links in email, if it's not from the company's website then forget it.
3. The best way is to look at message source, see below.

How to examine Email Message Source?

Now let's look at message source

1. Outlook.com->Actions->View Message Source. 
2. Gmail.com->More (down arrow to top right)->Show original.

Check for suspicious links, anything that does not originate from source domain, like apple.com.

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Report Phishing Email (not as Spam)

1. Outlook.com->Junk (at Top)->Phishing Scam
2. Gmail.com->More (down-arrow to top right)->Report Phishing 

Report Phishing to Google

If you have received this email, take further action by

1. https://www.google.com/safebrowsing/report_phish/

Report phishing at Microsoft and government agencies

1. http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/phishing-faq.aspx

Report phishing for Web hosting companies (e.g., GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Digital Ocean) and ISPs

1. SpamCop.net - Sign up for SpamCop reporting

Anti‑Phishing Working Group (APWG) — forward to reportphishing@apwg.org

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💣 📧 Check if your username or email has been hacked

Credit Card Bonus SPAM Email with subject No Interest Until 2027 + Excellent Welcome Offers

For the record, this is a Credit Card Bonus spam email attempt that is recently going around, with subject "No Interest Until 2027 + Excellent Welcome Offers"

What to do?  Report them, go to bottom of page. 

From: CreditCardBonus.net Ad<alert@televisionative.com> Subject: No Interest Until 2027 + Excellent Welcome Offers

Spam Link

1. https://televisionative.com/c/xxxx

How to tell this is a Phishing email?

1. Check email address in full, if it's not from originating company then it's phishing.
2. Hover over all links in email, if it's not from the company's website then forget it.
3. The best way is to look at message source, see below.

How to examine Email Message Source?

Now let's look at message source

1. Outlook.com->Actions->View Message Source. 
2. Gmail.com->More (down arrow to top right)->Show original.

Check for suspicious links, anything that does not originate from source domain, like apple.com.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Report Phishing Email (not as Spam)

1. Outlook.com->Junk (at Top)->Phishing Scam
2. Gmail.com->More (down-arrow to top right)->Report Phishing 

Report Phishing to Google

If you have received this email, take further action by

1. https://www.google.com/safebrowsing/report_phish/

Report phishing at Microsoft and government agencies

1. http://www.microsoft.com/security/online-privacy/phishing-faq.aspx

Report phishing for Web hosting companies (e.g., GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Digital Ocean) and ISPs

1. SpamCop.net - Sign up for SpamCop reporting

Anti‑Phishing Working Group (APWG) — forward to reportphishing@apwg.org

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💣 📧 Check if your username or email has been hacked